Where Is Mount Edith Cavell And How Do You Get There?
Mt. Edith Cavell is located in Alberta, Canada within the boundaries of Jasper National Park. Mount Edith Cavell was named after a World War I nurse who helped Allied Prisoners escape Brussels and was executed for her efforts. The road up to see Mt. Edith Cavell is a seasonal road that was built in the 1930’s. It is a 13km narrow winding mountain road that branches off of the old highway 93A in Jasper National Park.
Weather permitting, the Cavell Road opens sometime in June and also weather permitting stays open to vehicle traffic until mid October. Since it is the only road up to Mt. Edith Cavell, the road may close if there is imminent forest fire danger. When the road closes for winter, it may be navigated on foot. The closest town with lodging is the town of Jasper. From the town of Jasper, it is about 17 mile drive up to Mount Edith Cavell and the surrounding lakes and glaciers.
In order to get there early you’ll need to make sure the road is open, get up well before the crack of dawn and make the fairly long and slow drive up the winding mountain road. In order to get this beautiful sunrise view you’ll need to keep at eye out for the Hostel International Edith Cavell Hostel on the left hand side of the road. When you see the road up to the hostel, look for a place to park on the right hand side of the road. Hop out of the car and look for a trail behind your car that goes down to the lake. When you come to a bridge you will see the lake to your left and the towering peak of Mt. Edith Cavell.
What Makes The Mount Edith Cavell At Sunrise A Spectacular Photo Opportunity?
The Mount Edith Cavell is area is a heavily trafficked area of Jasper National Park. There have been years when a permit was needed to access the road and the Mount Edith Cavell area but normally there is no permit needed to access the area. Since Mount Edith Cavell is a fair distance from the Jasper Town Site, it is not a particularly popular sunrise photo spot. It is however one of the best photo spots near the Jasper Town Site. The window of opportunity to even get to Mount Edith Cavell can be quite small so you’ll have an awesome wall art photo that lots of other people won’t have.
When the sun starts to rise, the mountain peaks begin to light up . They often turn pink, red or orange if cloud cover doesn’t block the sun. Sometimes the peaks light up with a solid block of color while other times cloud cover may result in colored stripes on the peaks.
On calm mornings, the peaks reflect in the lake and create a beautiful Canadian Rockies sunrise scene. The lake bottom is quite rocky. Depending on the water level you may be able to rock hop out into the lake a bit to frame up different shots than you can get from the shoreline of the bridge.
When Should You To Mount Edith Cavell For Amazing Wall Art Quality Photos?
As noted above, the window of opportunity to drive up to Mt. Edith Cavell is short. You’ll need to get up there sometime between mid June and mid October weather and conditions permitting. Anytime in there is a good time to head up.
If you are going to make the drive up from Jasper or wherever you are staying, you’ll want to look for a Jasper sunrise forecast that is partly cloudy at most, has a very light wind forecast and shows no signs of precipitation. If you’ve only got one or two days to get up there then maybe you just go no matter what.
As the climate warms and dries out, forest fires become more of the threat. Even if there is not an active fire in the Cavell area or Jasper National Park, smoke from as far away as the northern US or British Columbia, Canada can blow in and ruin the views at Mt. Edith Cavell. The threat of fires exists from the time the Cavell road opens until it is scheduled to close. This makes it more difficult to get great sunrise photos up there.
What Is The Best Gear For Photographing Sunrise Art Mt. Edith Cavell In Jasper?
The location to photograph Mt. Edith Cavell at sunrise is a simple landscape shot that lends itself well to a standard 4×6 dimension photograph. There is little if any need to make a panoramic shot out of this scene.
There is no need for any special photo gear. A cel phone to a DSLR to a mirrorless camera will work fine. If you plan to make prints form the photos you take, the sensor in camera you use will determine how large the prints can be. That should be your most critical deciding factor for your choice of a camera.
If you are using a full frame camera of the equivalent you’ll probably want a lens somewhere between 18mm and 40mm for a pretty standard photo.
What Is The Story Behind This Mount Edith Cavell Sunrise Wall Art Photo Print?
I’d been going to and photographing Jasper National Park for a few years before I finally got this sunrise photo at Mount Edith Cavell. The first few times up at Jasper, I was just wandering around exploring. This location is a bit off the beaten path. It’s not a place you’d normally just stumble upon.
At some point I saw photos of it. I went up to Mount Edith Cavell and hiked all over around the main parking area but could not figure out where this photo was taken. I turned back to the internet to try to figure out where exactly it was taken. I think that was the spring of 2016. The road was not yet open and I couldn’t get up there.
While back in Jasper in 2017, I was determined to get sunrise photos of Mount Edith Cavell reflecting in the lake. Well, there was construction up there to rebuild the parking lot. Permits were required to go up the road at all and the road didn’t open until 10am I think it was. Way too late for sunrise. Finally I figured out that there was a hostel up there that was open. If I stayed there, I got a permit for the road. Once I was on the road I could drive or walk along the road to get to this spot for sunrise.
Of course there were forest fires burning all over the western US and Canada. I spent a week or so staying at the hostel in order to get a couple clear days. Rain storms, heavy clouds and smoke ruined sunrise numerous times before there was finally a couple clear days to go out and get some cool shots.
In What Formats Is Mount Edith Cavell Sunrise Wall Art Print Available?
If you’d like this or a similar Mount Edith Cavell wall art print for your home or office, it comes in sizes up to 40×60 inches. If you prefer something shiny for an area with diffused lighting then an acrylic or metal print would probably be best. If it will hang in a brighter area with more overall light or natural light coming through the windows or skylights then a matte canvas or paper print would be a better fit.
Along with prints, this image comes on home decor items like shower curtains, pillows and towels. If you’d prefer to show off your love for Jasper National Park and Mt. Edith Cavell, it can also be purchased on canvas tote bags perfect for grocery shopping and cel phone cases. If you’ll be spending a lot of time inside for whatever reason and need something to do, it can also be purchased as a jigsaw puzzle.
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